Celebrate Our Namesake’s Birthday: The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne

Today is the 137th anniversary of Randolph Bourne’s birthday. Antiwar.com named its parent institute for this early 20th century antiwar activist. Read Jeff Riggenbach’s biography of Bourne. [Transcribed from the Libertarian Tradition podcast episode “Randolph Bourne (1886–1918)”] Randolph Bourne was an American intellectual journalist who flourished for a few years in the second decade of … Continue reading “Celebrate Our Namesake’s Birthday: The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne”

Libertarian Apologists for Ukraine’s Authoritarianism

It should not come as a surprise that U.S. officials and members of the foreign policy establishment have falsely portrayed Ukraine as a noble democracy. Such deceptions in pursuit of assorted US foreign policy objectives around the globe are nothing new. Throughout the Cold War, Washington routinely contended that "friendly" dictatorships were members of the … Continue reading “Libertarian Apologists for Ukraine’s Authoritarianism”

Drones Over the Kremlin: Is Ukraine Trying To Assassinate Putin?

On May 3, two slow moving drones flew over the Kremlin and then exploded in flames when the Russian military forced them down. Whether the drone attack was a serious attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s life or not, Moscow perceived it as one, announcing that "Last night, the Kiev regime attempted a drone strike … Continue reading “Drones Over the Kremlin: Is Ukraine Trying To Assassinate Putin?”

Memorial Day: Honor the Fallen by Ending Wars

During the summer of 2018 my family and I were passing through Oklahoma. We were going home to central Texas from a family camp where my wife had been both a camper and counselor growing up. It was a great week. Instead of driving through McDonalds, we decided to get a real meal from a … Continue reading “Memorial Day: Honor the Fallen by Ending Wars”

Time To End the FBI’s FISA Follies

This is reprinted from the Orange County Register with permission. Late last Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a heavily redacted April 2022 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) opinion and order dealing with the highly controversial FISA Section 702 intelligence collection program, which is set to expire on New Year’s … Continue reading “Time To End the FBI’s FISA Follies”

Crimes Against Humanity, American-Style

Originally posted at TomDispatch. In the Blindman’s Buff variation of tag, a child designated as “It” is tasked with tapping another child while wearing a blindfold. The sightless child knows the other children, all able to see, are there but is left to stumble around, using sounds and knowledge of the space they’re in as … Continue reading “Crimes Against Humanity, American-Style”

Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was open to negotiating a peace. The United States was not. State Department spokesman Ned Price explained, oddly, that the midst of a war is not the time for diplomacy. “This is not real diplomacy,” he said, “Those are not the conditions … Continue reading “Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time”

British Warmongering Is Driving Europe Towards Catastrophe in Ukraine

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made an unexpected trip to Britain last week on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals, pleading for more powerful and longer-range weapons to use in his war against Russia.  What was hard to ignore once again was the extent to which the UK is playing an outsize role in Ukraine. Last … Continue reading “British Warmongering Is Driving Europe Towards Catastrophe in Ukraine”

Journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Crimea

At the end of April of this year, the two of us ventured together to Russia. We went with the purpose of fact-finding and also to make a point that we do not believe that Russia should be isolated from the world through sanctions and travel bans. At this moment, Russia is more isolated from … Continue reading “Journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Crimea”